


The Boy With the Eager Eyes

by Chash



Series: Falling Back on Forever [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Age Swap, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 01:59:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4769321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke moves in with her high-school BFF; she hadn't realized that would mean she'd be hanging out with her BFF's little brother too. In retrospect, she should have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy With the Eager Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> The record will show I love "we knew each other when we were kids and oops you're hot now." I just also wanted to try age swapped Octavia and Bellamy, not that there is a lot of that, because Clarke panicking about feelings, but eh. Obviously Bellamy is kind of different when he's not the big brother, but I tried to keep him still Bellamy.

Clarke meets Bellamy Blake for the first time in eight years because she runs directly into him backing through the door of her new apartment building.

"Fuck, sorry!" she says, turning enough to see broad shoulders and a very firm chest in a navy blue shirt.

"No problem," says the guy she bumped into, catching her shoulders to steady her. His voice is deep and warm, amused. "Do you need some help?"

She looks up to give him a smile and registers tan skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes. He's a few years younger than she is, probably in his early twenties, and he has a great smile.

It widens as he takes her in. "Hey."

"Hey?" she says, frowning a little.

He laughs. "You don't recognize me." He sounds delighted, like he loves when people don't recognize him.

Clarke is distracted by the familiar scattering of freckles on his face, because _of course_. "Bellamy," she says, jaw dropping.

"Octavia recruited me to help move stuff," he says. "So here I am."

Octavia Blake was Clarke's best friend from roughly age twelve to age eighteen, when Clarke went to college and Octavia was going to go to college, but she ended up having to drop out to take care of her little brother instead. Her little brother who was, last time Clarke saw him, a lot smaller. She remembers Bellamy Blake as a fourteen-year-old kid with braces and giant, embarrassing glasses. She liked him, of course--he was cute and she had fun hanging out with him. They used to watch cartoons together while Octavia called them nerds, and Octavia told her on more than one occasion that Bellamy was convinced he was going to marry her when he grew up.

So it's more than a little disconcerting to actually be seeing him grown up. He's--broad. Very broad. Not that much taller than she is, kind of the perfect height, honestly, just right to--

Fuck, Bellamy Blake is _hot_.

"I wouldn't say no to some help with boxes," she says, to distract herself from his smile. "I assume Octavia is supervising?"

"Her boyfriend is like five times my size, I don't know why he isn't helping," he says, rolling his eyes. "Here." He takes the box, hands brushing against hers, and jerks his head. "I'll show you up."

Three months ago, Clarke found out her boyfriend was cheating on her (with her), right as she was finishing up her Masters'. It felt like a sign, honestly--this was the time to restart literally her entire life. She found a job halfway across the country and asked Facebook if anyone was looking for a roommate.

And, as it turned out, Octavia was. She hadn't realized Bellamy was part of the deal, although she probably should have. The Blakes have always been close, even before their mother died.

"Do you live in town?" she asks him. "Or just visiting?"

"Live here," he says. "Came here after I graduated."

"Oh, right," says Clarke. "You just finished college, right?"

"Yeah."

"Got a job yet?"

"Not a good one." He tosses her a smile over his shoulder. "Minimum wage at a bookstore."

She can't help smiling back. "But you love books."

"It turns out when you work at a bookstore, it isn't just getting to hang out with the books all the time. It's mostly shitty customers who get upset when you can't help them find that book, you know, about the guy, there's a mountain, the cover is green."

" _The Hobbit_ ," Clarke says, absent. She's not watching Bellamy's back, because that would be weird. It's just--he's so much bigger than she remembers. His hair is still a mess, but it's an artful mess now, a deliberate one, like he has actually gained some sense of style in the last eight years. Which shouldn't be a huge surprise, but he was always kind of a tiny little nerd.

"I'm upset you're right," he says. "It took me way longer to figure it out. Probably because all our copies of the book were movie tie-ins, so I try not to look at them."

"Snob."

"Look, anyone who turns _The Hobbit_ into _three_ movies deserves to be taken out back and shot," Bellamy grumbles, and Clarke flicks his back, like she would if they were still kids. It's like flicking a fucking brick wall. She wonders when exactly he started working out.

"Sorry, not snob. Nerd."

"Nerd snob, thanks," he says. He pushes the door open with his foot and yells, "I found Clarke, O!"

Octavia bounces out of a room, all dark hair and bright smiles. _She_ looks about as Clarke remembers, older, a little more worn around the edges, but still Clarke's first real best friend, Clarke's first kiss, and Clarke's first hopeless crush.

What is it about Blakes?

"Hey!" says Octavia. "God, it's been so fucking long!"

"I know, I can't believe my parents moved as soon as I went to college," she says, catching Octavia when she jumps into her arms for a hug. "It's like they wanted me to never see my friends again."

"They never really approved of me," says Octavia.

"Well, you were clearly a bad influence. Total delinquent, selflessly taking care of your defenseless baby brother--"

"Hey," says Bellamy, mildly. "I'm very defenseful." He flexes his arm in her general direction, which is a lot to take in. Seriously, what the hell does his workout routine look like? His arms are insane.

"Defenseful is not a word, Bell," says Octavia. "Do you have more stuff? Bell's great at heavy lifting."

"You guys are buying me pizza," he says, stretching so his shirt rides up.

"You don't live here, do you?" Clarke blurts out, and then feels herself flush, because it's an awkward question. She feels like Octavia would have mentioned if Bellamy was actually cohabitating with them, but she really needs to be sure she isn't going to be seeing him on a regular basis. Clarke doesn't have any siblings of her own, but she understands that they are generally considered to be off-limits for dating. And Bellamy is--a kid, right? He's only four years younger than she is, and there's probably nothing wrong, in the abstract, with her being interested in someone his age. But there's something wrong with her being interested in _him_. She remembers when he was eight and she was twelve and she helped him tie a string around his loose tooth to yank it out, and that is probably not the kind of relationship that should ever turn sexual.

Which is stupid to even think about, because Bellamy--okay, it's possible Bellamy really did have a crush on her when they were kids, but they were kids. He probably has a girlfriend now. Or a boyfriend. Looking like that, he has to.

"I'm living with my friend Miller," he says, smiling. "No offense, but I've had enough living with Octavia to last me a lifetime."

"You're a dick," says Octavia.

"Like I haven't heard that before." He turns his attention to Clarke. "You're gonna need to show me your car if I'm going to help you unload."

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Not so long as you buy me pizza."

Between the three of them, they get all Clarke's stuff inside without much trouble, and Bellamy even helps her set up the room how she wants, hauling her furniture around by himself so she can decide if she likes the placement.

After, he tugs his shirt over his head and uses it to scrub his face, and Clarke thinks she might actually go to hell for this. Maybe Octavia won't notice. But he looks like a fucking--model or something. Like he's in a really overly sexual Gatorade ad. She's expecting him to pour a bucket of ice water on himself and shake in slow motion or something.

Instead, he goes into Octavia's room and comes out wearing a different shirt, which is a lot better for her sanity.

"So," he says, giving Clarke a bright smile. "Pizza?"

*

Living with Octavia is surprisingly easy. Even though they haven't seen each other in years, it's not hard to fall back into their old habits, watching TV and chatting about their jobs and Octavia's boyfriend and the whole shitshow that was Clarke's ex. Octavia does the cooking, Clarke does the dishes, and it's fun. Her last roommate had been in med school, which meant she was always busy and Clarke's social life basically revolved around Finn. But Octavia has her own group, and they accept Clarke easily. It's nice. She feels like she's fitting in.

Unfortunately, Bellamy is also a part of the group, and that's still--well, it's still a thing. It's not like he's getting less hot, or less--well, she did always like hanging out with him, for all he was younger than they were. And now he's not, not really, not like he was. They're both post-college adults embarking on careers, and they get along like a house on fire, in-sync in this effortless way, the ultimate partners at every team game, trading private grins whenever anything amuses them.

It makes her wish she'd brought at least one of her own friends when she moved, just so she'd have someone local to talk to about the whole thing. Because Bellamy is hard to read; he's one of those guys who's easy, casual with his affection, always slinging a friendly arm over Clarke's shoulder, making her heartrate spike, and then pressing a sloppy kiss to his friend Miller's temple, so it doesn't feel like anything special anymore. And it's kind of the worst; she can't even tell if she's being obvious about the whole crush thing, because he's so relaxed all the time. 

"Didn't you used to be kind of a paranoid, angry shit half the time?" Clarke asks him one night. They're at the bar where Octavia's boyfriend works, and Bellamy has her tucked into his side in the booth, one giant arm hooked around her neck while they watch Octavia, Miller, Monty, and Jasper playing darts. "When'd you get so chill?"

"It's O," he says, smiling at his sister, all warm fondness. "Turns out she's an infinitely better parent than our mom ever was. I know how much it sucked for her, but--suddenly I had an adult I actually liked and trusted taking care of me. I didn't think she'd ever steal my cash to buy herself drugs or anything like that."

"Oh," says Clarke. She puts her own arm around him, a tentative half-hug, and he laughs.

"Sorry, too serious?"

"No, it's--nice. That you guys have each other. I was always kind of jealous."

Clarke's own parents were never nearly as bad as Aurora; they were busy and distant, not neglectful or abusive. Clarke had everything she needed, everything she could ever want, but she never had an ally like Bellamy and Octavia had in each other, the kind of unwavering devotion they had. And she felt like a part of their family, for a few years, enough that when Aurora died and Octavia took over she even felt as if she should go back and help, somehow. But Octavia told her not to be an idiot, and her parents would have killed her, so she didn't.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," she tells Bellamy, because she still is, and she's just drunk enough to be able to say it. "When everything happened. Octavia told me I wasn't allowed to fail out of college to come see you guys."

He squeezes her shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't," he says. "I was a fucking mess."

"That's why I wanted to be there."

He laughs. "Yeah, I would have just been embarrassed. I kind of had a thing for you."

"I know."

"Great." He doesn't really sound upset, though. "Anyway, you emailed, that was cool. And O showed me all your dumb Facebook pictures. I had fantasies about seeing you again when I was older and had my life figured out. Way better than you seeing me getting into fights all the time and yelling at O until I got my shit together. Puberty is the worst time for a parent to die, I'm pretty sure."

A smile tugs at her lips. "So, you had fantasies about this exact scenario, pretty much?"

"Well, I was fourteen, so I was usually imagining myself as some suave, James Bond motherfucker. Like, I'd have a tux and my hair slicked back, I'd offer you a cigarette, you'd be charmed--"

"Wow."

"This is why I'm glad you weren't around back then. It would have been really humiliating."

"As opposed to now, when you're so cool."

" _So_ cool," he agrees.

Octavia and Jasper flop down across from them, and if Octavia thinks it's weird that Clarke is hardcore cuddling her brother, she shows no sign of it.

"Monty and Miller destroyed us," Octavia says, grabbing the pitcher of beer and pouring herself a drink. "You guys want to see if you can take them on?"

Bellamy looks at Clarke. "Bet we can," he says.

Clarke smiles at him helplessly. "Bet we can," she agrees.

*

"So, how's the jailbait?"

Clarke glares at Raven. Raven is the girl Finn was cheating with, or cheating on, or both. She doesn't really know the correct term for her. She and Clarke actually got pretty close in the few months after they found out about the cheating and before Clarke left town, and they've been Skyping since Clarke got here, when Octavia isn't home. It's nice to have someone to complain to about how Bellamy loves touching and hates shirts.

"Twenty-two is not jailbait!" Clarke protests. "He's so legal."

"You need to get some selfies with him or something. Hearing about how tragically hot your roommate's kid brother is is just not as fun without visual aids."

"I'll keep that in mind." She sighs. "Maybe I should sign up for one of those dating apps. I wish there was a good one for girls looking for girls, but apparently straight dudes always sign up and ruin them or some shit."

"Fuck straight boys."

"I can't tell if that's supposed to be a solution or a statement."

"Both, I guess."

"How are you doing? Still rebounding from Finn with random dudes?"

"God, it sounds so awful when you put it like that," says Raven, making a face. "I've slept with the same guy like three times now, which is cool. It means he's actually starting to get good at sex. They require some training."

"You are sleeping with the wrong boys."

"Maybe, but at least I'm sleeping with them."

There's a knock on the door, and Clarke goes over to find Bellamy with two bags and a hopeful smile.

"I'm bored as shit," he says. "Ever since Monty and Miller started dating my social life is taking a dive. If I give you food, will you take pity on me and watch a history documentary on Netflix?"

"You really need to work on your sales pitch. Why can't you watch a history documentary alone?"

"Monty's roommate is home tonight, so Miller asked if they could get the apartment. If you kick me out, I'm going to be eating takeout in an alley somewhere, Clarke."

Clarke rolls her eyes and pulls the door open. "Well, I'm not a _monster_. Come tell my friend Raven why I'm blowing off our Skype date."

Raven raises her eyebrows as Clarke sits down, dragging Bellamy by the arm. Bellamy raises one hand in greeting. "Hi, Clarke's friend Raven."

"This is Octavia's little brother," Clarke says. 

Raven nods, but somehow refrains from doing anything else embarrassing. Clarke should send her a fruit basket or cookies or something. "Hey, little bro, what have you got that's so much more important than our Skype date?"

"Got sexiled," says Bellamy. "I'm being an excellent friend and roommate and clearing out for the good of Miller's sex life."

"Acceptable. Clarke, call me back tomorrow?"

"I'll see what I can do. Later, Raven."

"Nice to meet you," Bellamy says, with another little wave.

"You too," says Raven, and _smirks_ at Clarke. Clarke rushes to close the laptop before Bellamy notices, but he seems distracted with takeout.

"I got you gyoza," he says, handing her a carton of food. "And those weird beef stick things."

"And rice?"

"And rice. This isn't my first rodeo." He roots through the bag for chopsticks and then asks, "College friend?"

"Huh?"

"Raven."

"Oh, no. She's--my ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, actually." He raises his eyebrows at her, and she flushes. "Long story."

"The longer the story takes, the longer you get to put off watching this documentary."

She snorts. "You sure know how to make an argument, Blake."

He nudges his foot against hers. "Come on, tell me."

"So, um--about five months ago now? My ex-boyfriend and I were talking about moving in together, I was graduating, my whole life was on track. And then--this girl showed up while we were watching a movie, and she kissed my boyfriend."

"Seriously?"

"He was really not a very competent cheater," says Clarke, stabbing one of her gyoza. She knows how to use chopsticks, she just wants to stab something. "They were long-distance and I think he just sort of assumed they'd naturally break up, so he wouldn't have to do anything. But she got tired of long distance and got a job interview and flew down for it, and--yeah."

"Holy shit."

"Anyway, we both broke up with him and she took my old apartment when I left town, so it worked out--maybe not _well_ , but I'm glad neither of us is dating him anymore."

"I think it worked out well," Bellamy says.

She snorts. "Yeah?"

He gives her a smile. "You're here, right?"

"Saving you from getting sexiled," she says, and snuggles into his side. He's going to pull her in there sooner or later, so she might as well just take advantage of his willingness to cuddle. "I'm a real hero."

"That was exactly what I meant," he says, and turns on the documentary.

Clarke isn't sure exactly when she falls asleep, but she wakes up when Octavia unlocks the door. Bellamy is reading something on his phone, absently carding one hand through her hair, and she expects something terrible when she meets Octavia's eyes, but Octavia just smiles.

"What are you doing here, Bell?"

"She's sleeping," Bellamy says, voice soft.

"I'm not," Clarke says, stretching. "Thanks for the concern, but your sister already woke me up. And he got sexiled."

"Nice!" says Octavia, and leans down to high-five her brother. "Miller's getting some?"

"Did we really just high-five for Miller getting laid?" he asks dryly.

"If you get laid I'll high-five you too."

"I'm not telling you if I get laid."

"Then you don't get a high-five," Octavia sing-songs, and wanders into her room.

Clarke cracks her neck. "Are you allowed to go home yet, or are you crashing on the couch?"

He glances at his phone. "Miller told me I could come home after eleven, and it's quarter past, so I'll get out of your hair." He rubs his thumb against her shoulder. "Thanks for letting me crash your Skype date."

"Well, you did feed me," Clarke says, yawning. "Give me food and I'm basically yours."

"Good to know," he says, and kisses her on the cheek. "Get some sleep, Clarke."

*

Raven texts the next day. _Please tell me you fucked the jailbait._

_No._

_I'm going on the record: I think you need to fuck the jailbait._

_He's still twenty-two. But I'll make a note of your opinion._

*

"Oh, by the way, are you dating my brother?"

Clarke freezes. She's been living with Octavia for almost four months, and she has not fucked Bellamy. She hasn't even kissed Bellamy. She's tried to be as subtle as possible about how much she fucking _likes_ Bellamy. He keeps coming over when Miller is on dates and sitting with her on the couch and grinning and teasing her, and she's--god, she's so gone for him. But she has resisted.

"What?"

"Lincoln was asking, and I realized I didn't know," says Octavia, draining the pasta with no apparent interest in Clarke's answer. "And I figured I probably should."

Clarke wets her lips. "I'm not dating your brother."

"Okay."

She's sort of expecting a follow-up, but Octavia just tosses the pasta and slides the bowl to her, unconcerned. "What, I--why did you think I was?"

"Because he's been in love with you since he figured out how his dick worked?" Octavia offers. "So I figured he might have finally made that happen."

There's a lump in Clarke's throat. "No, he hasn't mentioned it." She looks down at her plate. "I might mention it," she says. "If you're not gonna kick me out."

Octavia snorts. "Like I said, he's been in love with you since he figured out how his dick works. You should have seen his face when I told him you were moving in."

"He hadn't even seen me in eight years."

"Yeah, but--you know how it can be, right? I love Lincoln, I'm just waiting for him to propose, but I still sometimes Facebook stalk Atom Jenkins and get sad that he got way less hot when he hit twenty-five."

"Also his name is Atom," Clarke points out. "I know it's not his fault, but come on."

Octavia laughs. "That too." She offers Clarke a smile, one that reminds her of Bellamy. And at what point did Bellamy become her reference Blake, anyway? When did Octavia start reminding her of him, and not the other way around? "Anyway, you have my blessing, if you need it."

"But he's, like--twenty-two."

"You know I started dating Lincoln when I was twenty-three and he was thirty, right?"

"Yeah, but--" She pauses, puts her head on the counter. "You should never date anyone you knew when they were eight and wore Pokemon underwear, right?"

"He might still wear Pokemon underwear," Octavia says, placid. "Like, ironically."

"Thanks. Now I feel totally better."

*

Clarke runs into Miller at the grocery store on Thursday night, when she's shopping for supplies. Thursday is Miller and Monty's regular date night, and Octavia works late at the gallery, so Bellamy is pretty much always over to snuggle and watch some weird documentary or play a video game while Clarke teases him. She thinks of it as _her_ date night, as much as Miller's, so she feels some weird unity with him. They're both out shopping for their--well, Clarke isn't shopping for her actual boyfriend, but she's working on it.

"What are you guys doing tonight?"

"What do you mean?" asks Miller. "Bellamy's hanging out with you, right?"

"Yeah, obviously. I meant you and Monty."

"Nothing?" Miller offers, frowning. "I dunno, I think he's hanging out with Jasper. I was just going to play Hearthstone." He holds up a bag of discount Halloween candy. "And eat way too much candy. It's gonna be good."

"Oh," says Clarke. "That's sounds fun," she adds, a little awkwardly.

Miller shrugs one shoulder. "What are you guys doing?"

"I don't know, whatever weird shit he finds on Netflix."

He nods. "Better you than me," he says, and wanders off.

If Miller told Bellamy about their conversation, Bellamy shows no sign of it. He has a key of his own, so he just lets himself in now, and calls out, "You didn't text, so I brought Thai."

"Thai's good," she says. He flops down on the couch next to her and offers a grin; she smiles back. "I saw Miller at the store."

"Yeah?"

"He said he and Monty didn't have plans tonight."

"Oh," says Bellamy. He's going a little red. "Huh."

Clarke bites back on a smile, leaning in to take her pad thai out of the bag. "How long has he not been going out with Monty on Thursdays?"

"It's, uh--it's never been a regular thing. But O's not around on Thursdays, so--"

"So you lied and said your roommate had a regular date night going with his boyfriend for _two months_ instead of just asking me out on a date like a normal person."

"It sounds really stupid when you put it like that," he mutters. But when Clarke looks up at him, he's smiling a little, hopeful. "I was building to that, okay?"

"Okay. So, have you built yet? Are you good?"

He worries his lip, looking down at her. "I've been working on this for like fifteen years," he says. "It's a momentous occasion. The first time I did this you totally shot me down."

She has to laugh. "When have you ever asked me out?"

He finds her hand and squeezes. "I was ten and I asked if you'd come to the school square dance with me."

"I hate square dancing! That doesn't count."

"You totally broke my heart," he teases.

"Ruined you for other women for many years. And then you hit puberty and--"

He tugs her gently into his lap. "Clarke." He's grinning. "Please, please go out with me."

"No way, we're already here, with food and a couch," she says, running her hands up his stomach, feeling the firm ridges of his abs under her finger tips. "We're staying in."

He laughs. "So, still a yes," he says.

"Still a yes," she agrees, and leans in to kiss him.

*

They're back on the couch when Octavia gets back, Clarke tucked into Bellamy's side like always, nothing out of the ordinary, she doesn't think, but Octavia takes one look at them, smirks, and tells Clarke, "Your shirt is on inside out."

"No it's not!" Clarke protests automatically, but when she and Bellamy look down, of course it is. 

Bellamy starts laughing and kisses her shoulder. "Good job," he teases, eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Shut up," Clarke says, without feeling.

"Yeah, I still would have noticed," Octavia remarks. "I've never seen Bell look so smug. And that's saying something." She offers her brother her hand as she heads to her room. "You got laid, high five."

Bellamy makes a show of thinking about it, but of course he doesn't leave her hanging. "I got laid," he agrees.

"What, I don't get a high five?" Clarke grumbles. It's a little surreal, being curled against his side, Octavia knowing and not caring, but she's not going to protest. She has an awesome boyfriend and her roommate approves. This is going pretty well.

Octavia high fives her, and then Bellamy does too, and Octavia says, "If you're staying, Bell, close the door and play some music or something. I'm not letting you guys kick me out every time you want to hook up. Bell's way nicer than I am about that."

"Miller wasn't even getting laid!" Clarke says. "It was all part of Bellamy's stupid dating plot."

"Hey, it _worked_ ," Bellamy points out. "It was an awesome dating plot."

Clarke pats his side. "Definitely the most awesome dating plot anyone's ever used on me. You really know how to make a girl feel loved."

"I'm doing my best to, anyway," he says, soft, maybe not even for her to hear, and it makes Clarke blush a little, but in a nice way.

Her stupid boy.

"You want to stay?" she asks.

"I'm always going to want to stay," he says. 

Clarke smiles. "Good."

**Author's Note:**

> Bellamy POV [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4039033/chapters/10931402)!


End file.
